The Trump administration has dropped its threat to withhold federal funding from Maryland schools if they did not eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion practices, Maryland’s attorney general announced Tuesday.

Last April, the U.S. Department of Education directed all school districts to sign a document that certified they would adhere to its interpretation of civil rights law. The department asserted DEI programs disadvantage white and Asian American students, violating the Civil Rights Act’s Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

Maryland and most other states disagreed with that interpretation and viewed it as a demand to change curriculum and hiring practices, including eliminating courses like the Advanced Placement African American Studies class, which has been criticized by federal officials.

State school Superintendent Carey Wright wrote back to federal officials that Maryland’s schools would not eliminate diversity programs, despite the Trump administration’s threats to eliminate up to $700 million in funding to the state.

She included letters from local school systems pledging to adhere to existing law, though Somerset County agreed to adhere to the Trump administration’s interpretation.

Wright carefully worded her letter. Rather than using the strong language coming from some states that openly defied the Trump administration, she said Maryland schools were complying with the federal civil rights law “as enacted by Congress and interpreted through applicable legal precedent.”

But Wright had also said in an April email to local school districts that her agency disagreed with the Trump administration’s interpretation of those civil rights laws.

Two lawsuits were subsequently brought by the American Federation of Teachers and the attorneys general of 19 states, including Maryland, against the federal education department.

In August, a federal judge in Maryland ruled against the federal government, and the Trump administration appealed the case but then dropped the appeal in late January.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and those from other states reached an agreement with the federal education department last week that the latter would no longer threaten funds to the 19 states.

The agreement brings to a close one of several threats to withhold or take back money that was promised to the state school system.

The Maryland State Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Brown said the Trump administration “tried to blackmail Maryland schools — abandon your commitment to equal education or lose the resources your most vulnerable students depend on.”

“This victory means Maryland students with disabilities, English language learners, and children from low-income families will keep getting the support they need,” he said.

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